Deuteronomy and the Medes

Abstract

The Jerusalem priesthood produced the Book of Deuteronomy in the late seventh century BCE. It restates concisely and eloquently the teachings of the rest of the Torah in a single volume that is tightly structured around the powerful personality of Moses. It also calls upon the Children of Israel to make a decisive, free choice between good and evil, life and death. This kind of statement is very unusual in the Hebrew Bible (and the medieval commentators realize this), but it corresponds closely to the most accessible of the Hymns of Zarathustra; and at the time Deuteronomy appeared the Medes, whose priesthood were most likely Zoroastrian, were approaching the zenith of their power. The question of influence is inescapable. The article considers also the paleo-Hebrew fragments of Deuteronomy offered for sale in the 19th century as perhaps early Qumranic discoveries; and considers how a scholar of faith might approach the historical Bible. An appendix considers other lost or hidden books.